Comments about ‘In our opinion: Marijuana is still dangerous’

Marijuana is bad bad bad. Got it. So is alcohol. Got it. Now how about
addressing the disastrous policy with the tragic misnomer "war on
drugs?" It should be called "the war on the poor and minorities."
Those are the real victims that the editors choose to ignore.

First off, there is not one recorded death from marijuana overdose, you may call
this hackneyed but it is true. Second off, ask yourself what you would rather
have your 12th graders use, alcohol, tobacco or marijuana. In a utopia, drug use
wouldn't exist, but this is not possible. Also, start stating the facts
about alcohol use, it's just as harmful to your brain if not more. I hate
these poorly biased articles written, by collectivists-in laymen's terms
"squares". That is all!

"It makes little sense for the nation to be systematically discouraging
cigarette smoking, regulating trans fatty acids, limiting the size of soft
drinks — all while many are turning a blind eye to the dangers of
marijuana."

Which is why we shouldn't be discouraging
cigarette smoking, we should be making smoking sections, we shouldn't be
regulating fatty acids, or limiting soft drink sizes. We should let adults make
adult decisions and stop trying to be their nanny!

Cannabis is NOT addictive. .The article writer needs to go look up
the definition of "addictive"..This paper won't tell
the truth and won't even address those who are functioning at higher levels
than possible on "drugs" and they run the gamut from psychiatric drugs
that do massive damage to the painkillers that destroy bodies from the
inside..So many people walk and drive on dangerous drugs but this
newspaper deems it necessary to vilify a simple plant that can only give good
health and many productive products when used properly. .Cannabis
isn't the villain here - people who are prejudiced without cause are.

"In our opinion marijuana is still dangerous". In MY opinion the real
danger is the lies that you are perpetuating. I neither want nor need the
government to tell me what I can and can not ingest. I am an adult and can make
that decision for myself. I choose what I believe to be a safer alternative to
the DANGEROUS "Legal" drugs that are forced on me by big pharma who are
fighting tooth and nail to prevent me from having that choice. The danger is the
"war" on the citizens of this so called "free" country who have
been incarcerated at record numbers for making this same choice. I am hurting no
one and should not be ashamed nor arrested for making what should be my right to
choose. Stop trying to enforce the unenforcable and end this war!

It's obvious that the author of this article is still under the thrall of
past government propaganda. The issue here is not the relative dangers of using
Cannabis, it is about the dangers of keeping current policies in place.It's a simple fact that laws against Cannabis are far, far, FAR more
harmful than the harms caused by the plant itself, This is not about "Is
Cannabis use good?", it is about "are our policies hurting people for no
good reason?". Far more people lose their lives as a result of the policies
than lose their lives as a result of the plant.We, as a country, have made
criminals out of otherwise good, law-abiding people. This insanity has to
stop.It's like most other things in society, if you don't like
it, don't use it. But lets stop demonizing those that choose to.

Until you're about 25, your brain is still developing. I do not believe
that marijuana does any harm to adults over that age. I would caution those
under that age that they should avoid regular exposure.

From about
the age of 16 until about 30, I smoked cannabis regularly. The material
available at the time wasn't as strong as what gets sold now, but we'd
smoke enough to get pretty high. After my wife and I married, and I
couldn't share the pleasant times with her due to her asthma, I gave it up.
It's not addictive. There was no withdrawal or difficulty of any kind.

What I want to do is caution younger folk about what it does to
developing brains. For a period of a few years after I stopped smoking
cannabis, it seemed like development that should have happened when I was
younger slowly resumed, with a clear increase of intellectual and emotional
capacity, and maturity.

At no time, though, did the drug
significantly impair my function. I made a wonderful and rewarding career in IT
and have built assets for an affluent retirement.

How unfortunate that this type of chicken-little hysteria can still be offered
as a legitimate position on marijuana, despite all the facts to the contrary.

All drugs can be abused. To single out a relatively benign
intoxicant like marijuana and demonized it as if "Reefer Madness" was a
documentary, is to reveal an dishonest agenda. Today, far more harm is caused by
marijuana prohibition, than by the use of marijuana itself.

The best
way to prevent drug abuse is with honest, credible and factual drug education.
Only in a climate in which marijuana is viewed from a public health perspective,
instead of a criminal justice perspective, can prevention efforts be effective.

People are not dumb and teenagers aren't naive. I know Doctors, Lawyers
and very sucessful businessmen who have smoked pot for over 40 years. The
"refer madness" approach that this article takes and that many critics
use is easily tossed aside by people with real life experiences to draw off.
I'm not advocating pots usage or legilization I'm just pointing out
that fear won't dissuade most people from trying or using. A better
approach would be an honest discussion that would respect peoples right to
choose what's best for themself.

The author is correct in only one assertion in this story. Marijuana use among
the young and still-being-educated is a problem. Learning IS impaired.So
it overall makes sense to regulate it much like alcohol. We can't keep it
out of youths' hands altogether, but can do so much more effectively than
allowing the current status quo to continue.The only reason it has been a
"gateway" drug is because the dealers who sell it also have other
products they'd like to market. Neutralize the dealers by legalizing it.

Dr. Lester Grinspoon spent decades studying the effects of marijuana. He found
the claims in this article to be nonscientific and inaccurate.

In a
recent interview (google it), Dr. Grinspoon rejected the claim marijuana is
addictive, he pointed out that its effects on the ability to function are
significantly less than alcohol. In the interview, he also pointed out that the
drug itself is far less problematic than our societal, political and criminal
response to it.

To the claim in this article that marijuana impairs
brain function, that's not supported by science or experience. The late
Carl Sagan use marijuana to unleash his creativity in thinking about scientific
and social problems and his insights while high led to insights he used
successfully in essays and lectures for many years.

It seems to me
our current policy of criminalizing marijuana does more harm than the marijuana
itself.

I've never had much interest in pot, but you should keep some perspective
here. Utah has the highest rate of anti-depression and anti-anxiety
prescriptions in the nation. Why? Well, people are trying to cope with an
increasingly difficult situation. Pot is an alternative. So maybe you ought to
consider why the legal drugs are so attractive. It might make you a little more
sympathetic.

I agree that "educated individuals" need to speak out on this subject.
However, don't expect anyone having even a basic knowledge of this plant
and its effects to say something negative. It is becoming clearer by the day
that we have been deceived regarding the many benefits of cannabis. Our
constitutional rights have been systematically trampled upon for decades.
Unfortunately for the few remaining prohibitionists, the more one knows, the
more one becomes convinced that it must be legalized, and this without delay.

I see several strange comments posted here. Just because marijuana may not be as
bad for youth or people as alcohol in same cases or tobacco in other ways, does
not mean we should promote it. Criminal justice laws and incarceration policies
may need to be improved or revisited; however that is not best achieved by
allowing or promoting unhealthy, unwise and dangerous practices that sound laws
should discourage.

As cited, very many teenagers think that weed is
just funny and harmless. In fact, strongly negative outcomes are related to it
in lots of important areas--but that scene is often not viewable for years
later. MJ has been a strong gateway drug to greater problems, and will surely
continue to be so for decades.

If pot is medicinally beneficial, why
hasn't the absolutely massive and profit-hungry pharma industry--with its
hordes of hard-working PhDs--not released it as a prescriptive product? Likely
it is because there are not actual medical benefits, in reality. Its
legalization has been driven by adults who value pleasure over societal health
and development. Its benefits do not nearly approach its costs of use and
distribution in sundry critical aspects.

Cannabis is not physically addictive. I know plenty of people who have smoked
pot for decades and decades and then stopped without any side affects. For some
it is mentally addictive, but never physically. So quit lying, Deseret News.
Papers are supposed to tell the truth based on fact. I want to concur with the
complaints about this Nanny state. As pot is far less harmful in every way than
driving, gun ownership, alcohol, cigarettes, and the worst legal addictive drug
of all, sugar, it's time to decriminalize it. Time to break way from the
racist, ignorant views of the reefer madness 1930's. In fact, Cannabis is
the perfect nightcap after a stressful day. And some stats show drivers are
actually safer on the road after smoking. Not that I'm recommending it.
I'm just sayin'. And guess what the ground breaker is now: epileptic
seizure are now confirmed to be reduced dramatically in children through
cannabis use in a particular configuration, leading lawmakers in Georgia and
Alabama to consider regulations of medical cannabis. Your writer is a caveman.
Except that cavemen smoked pot. I'd suggest your writer try some and chill
out.